AARON PLOTNER
1. When did you join Just Fitness?
November 2014
2. Why did you join Just Fitness?
I joined Just Fitness because I felt myself steadily getting in worse shape and I realized that just playing on sports teams 4 nights a week wasn't cutting it anymore. I realized that I had to put the work in during the offseason if I wanted to crack the top half of that daunting Orioles Fastball batting order.
3. What programs have you done at Just Fitness?
The JF Program.
4. What results have you seen because of joining Just Fitness?
I've lost a lot of weight (due to exercise and eating healthy), I've gained a huge amount of strength, I've gotten a lot faster and vastly improved my cardio, and I now compete in triathlons for fun.
5. What have you gotten out of being a member at Just Fitness that you weren’t expecting?
I've always seen going to the gym as something you were obligated to do in order to become a better athlete. I never anticipated it becoming something to look forward to. Every day (well, almost every day, ha ha) at Just Fitness I look forward to the workout, and the friendly competition with your friends that gives you the extra push you need sometimes.
6. What were your 2016 goals and did you meet them?
After spending a winter being very active snowboarding in the mountains, but not living a very healthy lifestyle beyond that, I made a major goal for the summer to clean up my eating habits and get in better shape for the next season.
I'm not a big fan of setting weight loss goal numbers, but I told myself if i got below 220 pounds, it would make snowboarding much easier.
With the help of Performance Meals, I'm happy to say that I surpassed that goal. In fact, I recently weighed myself in last week at 201 pounds, which was huge for me because before joining Just Fitness, at my heaviest, I tipped the scale at 302 pounds, so I'm actually 101 pounds down!
7. What are your 2017 goals?
I recently fell in love with exploring the backcountry on my snowboard. It has opened up an entirely new world for me. I would like to get to a point where the only limiting factor in the places I am able to explore are my skills as a mountaineer. I don't want my fitness to limit what I am able to accomplish in the mountains.
As a more concrete goal for 2017, I'm hoping to climb Denali and snowboard down.
8. What is your favourite workout?
JF Burner. It's just a gruelling test a will to not put that bar down. i love it!
Also, The samurai. I have to include this because I've always been a bigger guy so I never thought I could be much of a runner, but this workout has become one of my favourites, and I actually got on the board for it this summer! That had to be defining moment for me in my fitness journey this year! I think that was when it finally really hit me, like "Hey, i'm actually in pretty good shape! This is really working!"
9. What is your favourite “treat” meal?
I can crush a dominos meatzza with some cinastix.
10. Do you have a motivational message for others?
The only piece of advice I can give is to embrace the suck. I think its become pretty routine at Just Fitness to see me laying on the ground in a sweaty, exhausted heap after a workout. That's because every time, before we start, the last thing I say to myself is to make sure this hurts, because there is no easy way to meet your goals. You gotta fall in love with the grind.
